Only “DPS-New Beginning” and the Alliance for Rights and freedoms campaigned in the district, the others parties only put people with Turkish names on their lists
The situation in Kardzhali and the area of the elections for the 51st Parliament was unusual. In the area, which for more than 30 years was called a bastion of the DPS, for the first time there is no totally dominant political force. The reason is what is happening with the DPS, which also echoed in the 7 municipalities in the Kardzhali region.
The municipalities of Kardjali, Jebel and Chernoochene stood behind Delyan Peevski, and Momchilgrad, Krumovgrad, Kirkovo and Ardino remained loyal to Ahmed Dogan.
Apparently, the two parties – “DPS-New Beginning” and the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms – are of equal strength. Kardzhali is the municipality with the largest number of voters, while Jebel and Chernoochene are the two smallest in the region.
The number of supporters of DPS in the three municipalities is approximately equal to those in the other four. In Peevski’s camp, they bet on the representatives of the local government and put the mayors of the three municipalities – Erol Myumyun of Kardjali, Nejmi Ali of Jebel and Ayjan Ahmed of Chernoochene – at the top of the list.
In the other camp, they bet on the tradition that their list was headed by Ahmed Dogan. His runner-up was the long-time MP Remzi Osman, who had retired from active politics before the split. In third place was Pavlin Krastev, the only local deputy from the 50th parliament who did not join Peevski’s camp.
The apparent equality of forces became the reason for the fight for every vote during the election campaign. In practice, the two formations were the only ones that had an election campaign. The remaining parties and coalitions either did nothing or had episodic actions, consisting of handing out flyers and talking in places with more people.
There were almost no activists to campaign on the ground, but some parties and coalitions nominated Turks as leaders on their lists, hoping that they would attract additional votes because of the split in the DPS.
Unlike the other parties, Peevski’s and Dogan’s people fought for every vote
Sparks constantly flew between them and mutual accusations of exerting pressure and threats towards voters. There was even a physical clash in one of the black-eyed villages, but the absurd thing is that in this case both the beaters and the beaten were not local, but residents of the neighboring Haskovo region.
The split in the DPS caused most of the residents of the district to avoid talking about political topics. Many have even stopped talking on the phone and use applications over the Internet.
<img src="https://cache1.24chasa.bg/Images/Cache/257/IMAGE_19200257_40_0.jpg" alt="Merdie Humer is no longer optimistic that Bulgaria can become the Switzerland of the Balkans.” height=”400″ style=”margin: 0 auto; display: block;”/>
“We used to laugh at people in Turkey for only talking on Viber and WhatsApp, now we’re like them. We’re afraid of being eavesdropped,” says a local.
During the entire campaign, neither Peevski nor Dogan came to Kardzhali
However, the campaigns of both formations were closed with spectacular concerts attended by thousands.
Dogan’s people filled the stadium in Momchilgrad, where the Turkish megastar Murat Boz sang. With a concert by Galena and Azis on the central square in Kardzhali, they put an end to the agitation by Peevski’s “DPS-New Beginning”.
Did the voices of the singers and the messages of the politicians reach the common people?
They were certainly not heard by the emigrants who returned to their homeland in the last week. It is disputed whether they came to vote, although the two formations suspect each other of importing voters.
“There are expatriates, but they are not more than usual,” claim the owners of currency exchange offices, through which those who came from Turkey must pass.
“At the time, the politicians promised that they would turn Bulgaria into the Switzerland of the Balkans. What happened? Chaos. I don’t know if things will get better after these elections. I’m not optimistic,” says Merdie Humer. She is a former teacher. The village where she worked had 450 children and now there are 13. Next year they will probably close the school.
“They have been lying to us for 30 years that they will make way for us. We are two steps away from Kardzhali, but we are cut off from the world,” says 53-year-old Gulfie Mehmed from the village of Lisitsiki. She sells slippers to the tourists who come to see the longest rope bridge in Bulgaria.
It is the only connection of the 20 inhabitants of Lisitsiki with the world, although the village is only 3 km from Kardzhali. The bridge is 260 meters long and stretches on both banks of the “Studen Kladenets” dam.
“If you get sick, there’s no one to help you. Not even
a doctor comes here, nor can they take you. Simple
you’re dying”
says Guulfier.
“It’s not for everyone here. The children are in Shiroko Pole, but I don’t want to go there. It’s nicer here, it’s calmer,” says pensioner Mehmed Ahmed. He votes regularly, but he doesn’t expect anyone to do anything for the village of the Foxes.
“People are always hoping for something. This is the seventh choice, but nothing new will come. It’s all because of the envy of those above,” adds the pensioner. However, he believes that voting should be done, no matter which party, because it is everyone’s duty.
“No one has done anything for the Foxes. Not a single nail has been driven in. The communists at the time passed the current and built the bridge, nothing else,” claims Mehmed Ahmed.
According to him, this is also the reason why the detached village literally melted in 30 years, when about 300 people lived here and there was even a school and a shop.